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'Pilsey' was truly a one of a kind

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EDITOR'S NOTE: John "Pilsey'' Petrilyak, a fixture on the local sports scene for more than four decades, died Thursday at the age of 66. Standard-Speaker sports editor Dave Seamon knew Petrilyak almost his whole life. He offers his and others' recollections on the imcomparable "Pils.''

The 8-year-old kid had his worn, hand-me-down, Nellie Fox-autographed glove palm up when the baseball ricocheted off the glove and caught him flush in the mouth.

"Davey, Davey!'' he screamed, his eyes cutting an icy glare and seemingly showing no pity whatsover as tears freely flowed downed the kid's dust-powdered face. "That's not how you catch a baseball. It'll pop you in the mouth every time. Turn your glove THIS way.''

That was April 1974, the first time I met John "Pilsey" Petrilyak, then an assistant coach for my father's Blue Comet Diner team in the Beaver-Banks Little League at one of our first preseason practices. That wasn't how I expected my big league dreams to begin.

Of course, I learned how to catch a ball the proper way from that moment on as "Mr. Pils'' always proudly watched nearby. And despite my initial fears of him and the fact that my big league dreams never materialized, I grew to like the guy and eventually got to know him as my dad did, as one of the foremost sports minds and die-hard fans - especially of West Hazleton and Hazleton Area high school athletes and teams and Philadelphia's Phillies and Eagles - in the entire Hazleton area.

Better yet, I was honored to call him my friend and delighted to talk sports with him anytime, anywhere.

I was one of only hundreds of local youths who grew up with "Pilsey'' officiating our CYO basketball games or umpiring our Little League and Babe Ruth games, often bringing his son, "little Pils,'' along to shoot or slide across the floor at our basketball games. He worked the chains or was the scoreboard operator at Harman-Geist Memorial Field for football games or was at any local gym where there was a game, no matter the sport, his limited knowledge of some sports or the time of year.

When there, he'd tell a story or two about his latest trip to an Eagles game, a conversation he had with his friend and former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil, or he'd let us know how he felt about the Phillies' chances of reaching the World Series.

It just seemed like "Pilsey'' was everywhere.

All of which made Thursday's news that he had succumbed in his battle with a series of health issues that slowed him in recent years, hard to take.

Like fellow native Tresckowite and sports official Jim DeMara, who died just a few weeks ago after a lengthy battle with cancer, "Pilsey'' gave most of his free time to kids and sports.

"Pilsey was the ultimate competitor,'' said West Hazleton High School classmate and Hazleton Area assistant football coach Bob Williams, who served as the Wildcats' last head football coach in 1992. "He loved sports and being around sports and passed it off to the kids, especially his son who inherited his love for sports, the Wildcats and the Philadelphia teams.''

"Pilsey'' rarely pulled any punches, using as few words as possible to make his points about local and national sports news and the people who played and coached them. Instead, he'd shrug his shoulders and let his bulging eyes do most of his talking.

"He was the ultimate Wildcat,'' said Robbie Wallace, Hazleton Area school director and former girls basketball and baseball coach in the district. "He went to everything, whether it was a football game on a Saturday night or a softball game on a Tuesday afternoon in Mount Carmel... He supported all the kids. He knew all the kids by name. It didn't matter if you were up or down or if you were good or bad, he was always there to support you. He was the coach for every team.''

Petrilyak's vocal support extended beyond local athletes' high school days. Wallace recalled watching former Cougar and current Cleveland Indian Russ Canzler with "Pilsey'' in a minor league game at PNC Field last summer.

"We're talking with Russ after the game and Russ says, 'I heard you yelling, Pils. I heard you,'' Wallace said.

Pilsey's voice, however, was a respected one at that.

"I'd come into practice the day after a game and Pilsey would always be sitting there waiting for me,'' Wallace said. "'I'll tell you what you did wrong,' he'd say, and we'd go over the whole game. That's a void you're never going to fill.''

"Pilsey was always the kind of guy who would tell you like it was and that was very helpful,'' said his friend and former Hazleton Area athletic director Chris Perry, who brought Petrilyak into the fold when Hazleton, West Hazleton and Freeland high schools merged into HAHS in 1992 and credited with helping build the bridge from three schools to one. "He did a lot of the little things that really were big things. He was always there whenever I needed him... I'm going to miss him.''

We all will miss him.

"He basically was the kind of person that would do anything for you without ever asking for anything in return,'' retired Standard-Speaker sports editor Bill Crooks said.

Fred Barletta, the district's current AD and die-hard New York Giants fan, said the banter between "Pilsey,'' the ultimate Eagles fan, and him, didn't spoil their friendship. In fact, Barletta often took Petrilyak with him to Giants-Eagles games at the Meadowlands, remembering a yellow penalty flag that "Pilsey'' always carried in case someone tried to gain an unfair advantage in a tailgate game.

"Just a great guy to be around,'' Barletta said. "There will never be another Pilsey.''

Word has it that "Pilsey'' will be viewed in an Eagles sweatsuit this afternoon at the Butler Chapel of Krapf & Hughes Funeral Home in Drums.

"It's only fitting,'' said Cathy Brogan, who has served as HAHS' assistant athletic director and played sports at West Hazleton. "He was the real Philly fanatic.''

And quite a guy to boot.

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